Words of Emmett Till's Cousin Set the Stage for Civil Rights March this Saturday (VIDEO)

The shocking images that tell the story of Emmett Till's torture and murder were discussed by his cousin, who remembers the night 51 years ago like it was yesterday.

Emmett Till's death rocked the nation and started the Civil Rights Movement.

(SALEM) - The story of Emmett Till, a 14-year old black boy murdered in Mississippi in 1955 should send a shiver down the spine of every American.

His brutal murder sparked the Civil Rights movement, and this week his cousin Wheeler Parker who was there the night they took Emmett away, visited Willamette University to talk about the crime that caused a nation to awake.

Wheeler Parker on Tuesday Photo by: Sterling Alexander

Parker was not the target of the racist aggression that night in August of ’55. They were after his cousin Emmett visiting Mississippi from Chicago, who had committed a crime that would cost him his life; Emmett whistled at a white woman.

In the middle of the night, the door to his grandfather's house was thrown open, and Emmett was taken by the mob of at least six white men, forced into a truck and driven away, never again to be seen alive. "It was terror," Parker said.

It was only 50 years ago that whites in the south murdered and attacked African Americans almost routinely, while living in a system that allowed and even encouraged it.

Emmett's Murder changed things in this country, though not for him. Emmett’s funeral with his mutilated, decomposed body was held open casket at the insistence of his mother, Mamie Till. She wanted the world to see what had been done to her young son.

"He had two of his beautiful teeth left, they were my pride and joy." Mamie said they cut off one of Emmett's ears, and used what she assumed was a meat cleaver to chop the bridge of his nose.

Mamie Till, Emmet and other African Americans at this time, lived out the American history that schoolbooks seem to breeze over.

A Civil Rights March this Saturday in Salem will pay honor and respect to the legacies of historic figures like Emmett Till, and also bring attention to the struggles of African-American citizens today.

Organized by the Salem/Keizer Chapter of the NAACP, the theme of the event is "Injustice in Oregon" The march happens from 12:00 noon until 3:00 PM this Friday, September 30th. The march will begin at Riverfront Park, and lead to the Oregon State Capital steps.

People interested in participating in the Civil Rights March will meet at Riverfront Park and depart at 12:30 PM.

For Emmett Till, there was no justice.
None of the overwhelming evidence, or witness testimony, was enough to convict white men of killing a black child in the deep south of '55.

Some members of the 12-member all-white male jury actually participated in Till's torture and execution. They said it took an hour for the jury to return the "not guilty" verdict only because they paused for a soft drink on the way to the deliberation room.

The child killers came out of the closet three months after they were found not guilty, admitting everything. One of the two brothers sold the story to a magazine for four thousand dollars.

Over 50,000 attended the service. 100 days later, an African-American woman named Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus up to a white woman, and the American Civil Rights movement was born.

This video is from the brilliant documentary series "Eyes On The Prize," a chronicle of the American Civil Rights Movement from writer Steve Fayer and director Henry Hampton, courtesy of Google Video:

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WARNING! The video contains an image of Emmett Till's body during the open casket service. His face is mutilated and decomposed, and it is the image that shocked a nation into sweeping change in the summer of 1955.

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Tim King: Salem-News.com Editor and Writer

Tim King is a former U.S. Marine with twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor. In addition to his role as a war correspondent, this Los Angeles native serves as Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor. Tim spent the winter of 2006/07 covering the war in Afghanistan, and he was in Iraq over the summer of 2008, reporting from the war while embedded with both the U.S. Army and the Marines.

Tim holds awards for reporting, photography, writing and editing, including the Silver Spoke Award by the National Coalition of Motorcyclists (2011), Excellence in Journalism Award by the Oregon Confederation of Motorcycle Clubs (2010), Oregon AP Award for Spot News Photographer of the Year (2004), First-place Electronic Media Award in Spot News, Las Vegas, (1998), Oregon AP Cooperation Award (1991); and several others including the 2005 Red Cross Good Neighborhood Award for reporting. Tim has several years of experience in network affiliate news TV stations, having worked as a reporter and photographer at NBC, ABC and FOX stations in Arizona, Nevada and Oregon. Tim was a member of the National Press Photographer's Association for several years and is a current member of the Orange County Press Club.

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